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August 8, 2023 French

Des forces du FPR ont violé la zone de sécurité et ont commencé à attaquer la population civile à Birambo

Card Number 3529

Number
3529
Author
Pernaut, Jean-Pierre
Author
Nakad, Nahida
Author
Allémonière, Patricia
Author
Cosset, David
Date
8 juillet 1994
Ymd
19940708
Time
13:00:00
Time zone
CEST
Uptitle
Journal de 13 heures [3:13]
Title
Des forces du FPR ont violé la zone de sécurité et ont commencé à attaquer la population civile à Birambo
Subtitle
Il ne reste plus que quelques éléments français pour protéger la population terrorisée.
Size
9708351 bytes
Source
TF1
Public records
INA
Type
Journal télévisé
Language
FR
Abstract
- First serious incident this morning in Rwanda: in Birambo Patriotic Front forces violated the security zone supposed to be protected by the French army in the southwest of the country.
- In Birambo the RPF soldiers crossed the security zone. They spent the night there, and this morning began to attack the civilian population. According to witnesses, the RPF beat peasants to death. As for the Rwandan government forces, they fled this region very quickly, as did the Rwandan gendarmes. So there are only a few French elements left to protect the terrorized civilian population.
- Thousands of people fled the city and the region on foot, without taking anything with them. So far, the French army has not responded but is on the alert. This is the most serious incident since the start of Operation Turquoise.
- This morning Foreign Minister Alain Juppé also spoke of the catastrophic situation of the refugees. According to him, it would take 500 tonnes of food per day.
- In Kigali the city has been in the hands of the forces of the Rwandan Patriotic Front for three days. The RPF men took up positions at all the crossroads. After the military conquest of the capital, the rebels want to seduce the population and show that they are capable of governing. After the maquis and four years of fighting, they reunite with relatives and friends.
- Their priority today: to bring together all the inhabitants in places they can control. They want to avoid slippage. Civilians readily comply with the new rules. In Saint-André, there are several thousand, Tutsi and Hutu, living side by side. Families can go out from time to time to their homes to get food and some clothes.
- The game is not going to be easy: food is lacking, the water is polluted and diseases are proliferating. Nurses organized a dispensary. They distribute the rare drugs they have in their possession.
- With the end of the fighting, the UN was able to resume its food distributions. The peacekeepers, few in number, are doing their best but they lack the means. The trucks are half full.
- Four regroupment camps have been set up in Kigali. No one can say how long this situation will last. Now is the time for improvisation. The RPF wants to demonstrate that it too can ensure the safety of civilians.